Three-Dimensional Printing of Cuttlebone-Inspired Porous Ceramic Materials

Lightweight and strong ceramic materials are attractive for tissue engineering, aerospace, armor systems, and many high-temperature applications. Cuttlebone, primarily composed of bioceramics, features a unique S-shaped wall structure that contributes significantly to its remarkable mechanical properties. Here, we explore the hierarchical structure and components of the cuttlebone and reveal the high ceramic content in S-shaped walls. Inspired by the design of the cuttlebone, we developed a high ceramic loading slurry for three-dimensional printing cuttlebone-like structures. As shown in the compression test, the fabricated bioinspired ceramics exhibit excellent mechanical properties and can withstand 1.07 million times their own weight, outperforming traditional ceramic foams. The specific strength and modulus are 59.5 and 785.6 MPa/(g cm^-3), 9 and 36 times that of the natural cuttlebone. The failure mechanisms are also systematically studied on the basis of tuning the structural parameters. These findings provide effective solutions and inspiration in fabricating high-performance ceramic structural materials.